A/N Yeah, so...I don't know whether it was IAB, or IAD, or what, so you'll probably find a mixture of both in this chapter. Just know that I mean the group of people that interviewed Scotty after Lilly was shot. Nasty people. And Kite fans beware: slight bashing ahead. I promise that he turns out to be a Nice Person later! I also wasn't certain of the name of Mike's wife (Scotty's sister-in-law), so I went with what I'd seen most often- Allie. Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure all those questions about Elena will be answered in the next chapter!
Disclaimer: Agent Jacobs is mine. The rest can be found at various retailers across America. Prices may vary.
"Human resources? Internal affairs?" Vera echoed in horror. Stillman nodded grimly.
"They're out on a witch hunt. Someone will be around to talk to all of you at some point today."
Scotty and Lilly exchanged anxious glances. Scotty cleared his throat.
"Uh, boss? What about…you know…"
"We can't talk to IAD," Lilly said worriedly. Their boss shook his head.
"It's not optional, Rush."
Lilly sighed heavily. Vera and Jeffries watched, frowns of worry creasing their foreheads.
"If IAD find out about Lil an' Scotty, they could lose their jobs!" Miller pointed out. Stillman shrugged.
"So don't let them find out."
"Boss, IAD have been convinced Lil an' Scotty are sleeping together for years. You know that they're just lookin' for proof?" she replied.
Stillman nodded.
"I had an idea that's what they wanted. And after the shooting…" Lilly sighed.
"They saw their chance," she finished. Scotty exchanged worried looks with his partner. Jeffries' eyes clouded in sympathy. Poor Lil. Hell, poor Scotty. IAB's makin' 'em choose between their jobs...or each other. Thank the Lord that they're damn good liars.
"Don't worry," he said, "They ain't gonna get anythin' from us."
The early morning passed by on tenterhooks. The Cold Case team consumed numerous cups of coffee, desperately trying to keep their nerves under control. Stillman beckoned Lilly into his office.
"Shut the door, Rush." Her heart plummeted.
"They know, don't they?" He shook his head.
"No, but I've just found out where the tip off came from."
Lilly frowned slightly.
"Where?" Stillman's face was serious.
"The DA's office," he replied. Lilly felt her breath catch in her throat.
"Kite." Her boss nodded.
"Probably. Looks like he has something to say about you and Scotty."
Lilly sighed.
"This is exactly why Kite and I broke up in the first place."
"Because of you and Scotty?" Stillman asked in confusion.
"No, because Kite's an idiot."
Things began to get interesting at around 11am. Lilly, fed up of waiting, stood up.
"Tell Boss I'm going out." Scotty nodded absently.
"Rush," Stillman said. She stopped, her heart sinking.
The detectives looked up as their boss led a woman into the bullpen.
"This is Agent Jacobs. She'll be talking to you." Lilly examined the agent standing before them. She was pretty, but there was a certain coldness about her. Her chin length brown hair was perfectly styled, but looked out of place on the woman's hard, yet impossibly perfect, features.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Jacobs said. Vera turned his head away.
"Wish I could say the same," he muttered. Jeffries chuckled. Stillman hid a smile.
"Who would you like first?" Jacobs immediately looked towards Lilly.
"Detective Rush, I think."
Lilly backed up, smirking as she pulled on her coat.
"Sorry, I have to go castrate a lawyer." Scotty stifled a laugh as she walked out of the department. Stillman smiled apologetically at Agent Jacobs.
"Maybe work up to her."
"So, what exactly does being a Cold Case detective mean?" Miller raised her eyebrows, sitting back in her chair.
"You tell me. You're the IAD agent."
"Why did you leave Narcotics?"
"It wasn't fun anymore."
Jacobs took a deep breath, her nostrils flaring.
"Tell me about your relationship with Nick Vera."
"He's a colleague and a friend."
"Just a friend?" Kat rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, just a friend. I get that that might be hard for you to understand."
"What would happen if Nick Vera got transferred into a different department?"
Miller ignored the slight increase in her heart rate. She shrugged carelessly.
"There'd be more donuts for the rest of us."
The car door slammed shut as Lilly stormed across the plaza.
"Kite!" she shouted. He turned, his eyes widening. Lilly stopped in front of him, trying not to pummel him. "You son of a bitch!"
Kite glanced around anxiously.
"Jesus, Lilly! Will you keep it down?"
"You called IAD!" He smirked.
"What's the matter, Rush? Got something to hide?"
She glared up at him.
"We broke up, Kite. Leave me alone!" He shook his head.
"I always knew there was something going on between you and Valens. But you'd keep denying it. He doesn't deserve you, Lilly. He even screwed your sister."
Lilly smiled pityingly.
"And I would still rather be with him than with you." Kite's face fell, and it seemed as though Lilly's point had finally reached home.
"So I really have no chance of getting you back?" She shook her head.
"No, Jason."
He nodded, before turning on his heel and walking away. Lilly released a sigh of relief. Finally. Pity he's already called IAB. Oh well. She smirked at the thought of the IAB agent interviewing her friends. I can have some fun with Jacobs.
"You seem fairly…reliable, Detective." Jeffries chuckled.
"You could say that," he replied in his deep voice. Jacobs wrote something down in her notebook.
"So, who would you say is the most unreliable person on your team?" The big detective frowned.
"There isn't one. And if you're looking for one, you'll be here a while. We all have our faults."
Jacobs took a deep breath, trying to keep calm.
"OK, so who has the most faults?" Jeffries smirked.
"It depends." The IAD agent looked up.
"On what?" His smirk grew into a grin.
"On who's asking."
Jacobs narrowed her eyes.
"What if I'm asking?" Jeffries sat back in his seat, folding his arms.
"Listen, I'm not going to rat anybody out to IAD. We're just one big happy family."
"So it seems," Jacobs replied through gritted teeth.
"Anything else?"
"Send Detective Vera in on your way out."
"Are you hungry? I'm fuckin' starved." Jacobs sighed inwardly.
"No, I'm fine."
"Well, can I go and get somethin'? I think better when I eat."
"Really?"
"Does that make me guilty of somethin'? 'Cause right now, I think the only thing I'm guilty of is wantin' to murder a cheeseburger. An' as far as I'm aware, that ain't a crime."
Jacobs set her pen down in defeat.
"You're not going to tell me anything at all, are you?" Vera grinned.
"Nope."
Lilly arrived back at the precinct just as Jacobs called Scotty into the interview room. The partners shared a glance, but since the IAD agent was watching them like a hawk, it lasted no more than a second.
Scotty sat down at the table, uncomfortable with being in the 'hot seat'. I'm supposed to be askin' the questions.
"How long have you worked with Detective Rush?" Jacobs began.
"Around five years."
"And how well would you say you know her?" Scotty smirked.
"Better than most."
Jacobs seized the opportunity.
"So you'd say that your relationship is not totally professional?" Scotty shrugged.
"She's my best friend. Apart from that, you ain't gonna find nothin'."
The woman changed tactics.
"You have a number of incidents listed on your record." Scotty nodded.
"I ain't sayin' I'm perfect." Jacobs glanced down at her file.
"Actually, it looks like Detective Rush was involved in some of those too."
"A few."
"So you don't exactly work well together?"
"That's not what I said…"
"But you agreed that Lilly had been involved in some of these incidents that have led to you being up before the IAD."
"She's my partner," he replied through gritted teeth. How many times do I need to say that?
"Rush, someone to see you!" Miller called. Lilly looked up in surprise. A dark haired man raised a hand in greeting.
"You gotta be Lilly, right?" She blinked, recognition causing trepidation to rise up in her chest.
"Mike! What are you doing here?"
"Mom an' Pops said I missed quite a party. Had to come down an' meet Scotty's querida."
Casting an anxious look towards the interview room, the blonde detective grabbed Scotty's brother by the elbow and led him into the break room.
"Did anyone talk to you on the way up?"
"Lilly, are you OK?"
She shut the door.
"Someone ratted us out to Internal Affairs and there's an agent talking to everyone and she's trying to prove there's something between me and Scotty and if they find out that we're together then they could move one of us to a different department and I don't know if I can handle not working with him because that would be completely awful," she explained hurriedly, not pausing for breath.
Mike placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stand still.
"Hey, calm down." The woman nodded, taking a deep breath.
"You look so much like Scotty, I didn't want them to see me talking to you, and I didn't want her to put the pieces together. Crap. This isn't how I wanted you to meet me," she said apologetically. He chuckled.
"Relax. We'll just start over. Hi, I'm Mike Valens, the older brother."
Lilly took a deep breath, laughing softly.
"Lilly Rush, the girlfriend. Can I get you some coffee?"
"No, thanks. I know the rocket fuel you detectives drink. 'Sides, I just came by to say hello. An' from the looks of things, this isn't the best time." Lilly shook her head, smiling regretfully.
"You must think I'm some sort of weird...person."
"Well..." Mike replied thoughtfully, earning an even bigger smile from the detective.
"Maybe...I don't know...maybe you'd both like to come to dinner one night?" Lilly asked slowly, the unfamiliar words rolling off her tongue.
"Yeah. I think Allie would like that. Now, go kick some IAD butt."
Back in the interview room, Scotty sighed heavily. So this is what it's like to be interrogated. Jacobs sat in silence for a moment, writing in her notebook.
"Detective Rush has a habit of getting herself into difficult situations." That ain't a question, dumbass, Scotty thought.
"I guess."
"I mean, she entered a relationship with a man who was supposedly dead. Her sister, Christina, is wanted by the authorities. The incident with George Marks. Her mother drank herself to death. She was shot. A never-ending list of trouble."
Scotty glared at her.
"You got a point?"
"Why do you think that is? Do you think Detective Rush wants the trouble? Do you think she wants the pain?" Jacobs asked maliciously. Scotty felt his temper rising. Desperately trying to control his anger, he stood up, and headed towards the door.
"I ain't got nothin' else to say to you."
Storming out of the interrogation room, he left Jacobs sitting alone. Lilly, having seen Mike Valens out of the department, glanced up as the door was flung open, and felt her heart sink as she saw Scotty look in her direction, before heading down to the evidence locker. Vera followed her line of vision.
"Aw, don't worry, Lil. She probably jus' pissed him off."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Lilly replied quietly. That's exactly what I'm afraid of.
"You want me to talk to him?" She shook her head.
"I'm the only one left. Then she'll be gone."
Jacobs readjusted her position in the uncomfortable wooden seat. She took a deep breath, and forced herself to look up. Lilly smirked, her piercing blue eyes cold.
"I scare you."
Agent Jacobs blushed, and shook her head.
"You don't scare me, as such. You confuse me." Well, that's not hard, Lilly thought. Jacobs cleared her throat.
"Your partner, Detective Valens, has recently been the subject of an IAD investigation."
Lilly paused, before replying.
"Detective Valens shot a suspect who had taken the department hostage," she began, falling into the explanation she had given so many times before, "He did the right thing."
"Because he saved your life?"
"Yes. Because he saved my life."
Jacobs smirked, scribbling notes down on her pad.
"Describe your relationship with Scotty Valens." Lilly felt her heart jump.
"He's a good friend," she replied coolly. Jacobs leant forward.
"Are you just 'good friends', or is there more?" she asked curiously.
"We're best friends," Lilly said. She paused, watching the other woman's eyes light up.
Jacobs leant even closer.
"Go on," she urged excitedly. Lilly mimicked her movement, sitting forward in her seat to lean over the desk.
"Scotty is the bravest, strongest, most dedicated detective that I know. I know there is no one I would rather have as my partner. And you know what else?"
"What?"
"I'm not giving you anything that could jeopardize his career," Lilly finished, her voice hardening. Jacobs sat back in disappointment.
"Anything else?" she said in defeat. Lilly smirked.
"No, I think that just about covered it," she said brightly. Jacobs sighed. Lilly smiled innocently. "Are we done here?" The IAD agent nodded. The blonde detective tilted her head to the side, determined to have the last word.
"Don't let the door kick you on the way out."
Agent Jacobs stormed out of the office. Lilly appeared in the doorway behind her, a smug smile on her face. Scotty knew that smile. It was the smile that said I win. Jacobs stopped in front of Stillman. He raised his eyebrows.
"Well?" The IAD agent gave the Cold Case squad a dirty look.
"They're stubborn, pig-headed, uncooperative, fiercely loyal, and a complete pain in the ass."
The five detectives stood around Scotty's desk, watching the IAD agent with the same satisfied grin. Lilly and Scotty looked at each other.
"I love you," he mouthed. She blushed, her smile widening.
"I love you, too," she mouthed in return. Casting a sneaky glance at Jacobs, Scotty winked.
Hearing Lilly laugh, the IAD agent glared at them over her shoulder.
"Are you taking this any further?" Stillman asked in amusement. Jacobs sighed heavily.
"No. Despite…everything, you're team is effective, and I'd hate to be the one to split them up." Behind her, the detectives grinned triumphantly.
Stillman led her towards the door.
"I'm sorry you had to come all the way down here," he lied, fighting back a smile. Jacobs stopped as she walked past Lilly and Scotty. They looked up at her, wearing innocent smiles.
"I hope you two are very happy together," she said, allowing a tiny smirk to tug at the corner of her lips.
The department doors swung shut behind her, and the team released a collective sigh of relief. Vera shivered, shaking his head.
"I think she gave me a hernia," he muttered. Miller laughed, patting his arm.
"Come on, Nick. I'll buy you a donut."
"With frosting?"
"With frosting and sprinkles."
I hope I did them justice. Thanks to everyone who's following this fic- your reviews are doing wonders for my ego! We've had to widen the doorframes, just for my head. May I have another one? Please?